Trainose deadline to be postponed
The tenders for the privatization of Greece’s rail service operator Trainose and carriage maintenance firm Rosco are set for a delay, with well-informed sources saying that speaking bid deadlines would likely be postponed by one to three months.
State sell-off fund TAIPED is eager to ensure the successful completion of the two tenders even though the revenues they will fetch are not significant; instead, it is the political and fiscal parameters that are at stake, due to the huge state subsidies Trainose is supposed to return.
Late in Friday it was still unclear as to whether TAIPED would announce the postponement of the deadline for the binding bids concerning the 100 percent stake in Trainose, which is 5 p.m. on Monday. Sources say the announcement may come on Monday morning.
Kathimerini understands that the European Commission is happy with the new tender for Trainose, and as long as TAIPED continues to push for the privatization of the rail operator Brussels will not raise the issue of an immediate return of the subsidies, which may exceed 700 million euros. However, if the Commission realizes the government is seeking to freeze the process for some time, it will demand the return of the subsidies to the state immediately.
